# Annjee — Not Without Laughter character guide > Annjee in Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes. **Role:** major **Also known as:** ma Annjee, Tempy **First appearance:** 0000-i-storm ## Snapshot Sandy's mother, who cooks and cleans in white folks' kitchens and saves her tenderness for a husband who keeps drifting away. ## Who they are Annjee works long days at Mrs. Rice's and comes home to read and reread Jimboy's pencilled letters, certain he loves her even when he leaves. She takes Sandy to the theater to see her sister Harriett sing, laughing nervously through the comedians and murmuring that Harriett is the same as ever. Her patient endurance sets the emotional baseline of the household, and her marriage to a man who will not stay shapes Sandy's understanding of what love costs. ## Relationships ### [Sandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/sandy) _family_ Annjee is Sandy's mother, often distant due to her work and personal struggles, but she loves him deeply. ### [Jimboy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/jimboy) _romantic_ Annjee and Jimboy are married, but their relationship is strained by Jimboy's wandering lifestyle and Annjee's resentment. ### [Aunt Hager Williams](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/aunt_hager_williams) _family_ Annjee is Aunt Hager's daughter, and their relationship is marked by tension over Annjee's choices and Hager's expectations. ### [Harriett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/harriett) _family_ Annjee and Harriett are sisters, often clashing due to Harriett's wild behavior and Annjee's conventional values. ### [Ma Bailey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/ma_bailey) _family_ Annjee respects Ma Bailey as the family matriarch, though their interactions are limited by Annjee's busy life. ### [Moses Jenkins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/moses_jenkins) _family_ Annjee is Moses Jenkins' daughter-in-law, and their relationship is respectful but distant due to his stern demeanor. ### [Jimboy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/jimboy) _romantic_ Annjee and Jimboy are married, but their relationship is strained by Jimboy's wandering lifestyle and Annjee's resentment. ### [Sandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/sandy) _family_ Annjee is Sandy's mother, often distant due to her work and personal struggles, but she loves him deeply. ### [Harriett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/harriett) _family_ Annjee and Harriett are sisters, often clashing due to Harriett's wild behavior and Annjee's conventional values. ### [Aunt Hager Williams](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/aunt_hager_williams) _family_ Annjee is Aunt Hager's daughter, and their relationship is marked by tension over Annjee's choices and Hager's expectations. ### [Ma Bailey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/ma_bailey) _family_ Annjee respects Ma Bailey as the family matriarch, though their interactions are limited by Annjee's busy life. ### [Sandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/sandy) _family_ Annjee is Sandy's mother, often distant due to her work and personal struggles, but she loves him deeply. ## In the story ### [Storm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/i-storm) Annjee returns home late after the storm; she prays for her husband Jimboy and carries Sandy home from the steps. ### [Storm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/i-storm) Tempy is mentioned as being safe after the storm, according to Aunt Hager's conversation. ### [Jimboy's Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/iii-jimboy-s-letter) Receives Jimboy's letter and dreams of traveling with him, though she feels trapped in Stanton. ### [Guitar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/v-guitar) Feels hurt and jealous as Jimboy focuses on music rather than her, but eventually reconciles with him after he eats the ham she brought. ### [Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/vi-work) Annjee works as a domestic servant for Mrs. Rice, hurrying to finish her duties so she can attend a lodge rehearsal. She is reprimanded by Mrs. Rice for the onion in the steak sauce and for not having cold water ready. ### [VII: White Folks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/vii-white-folks) Brings steak and biscuits for Jimboy, gets dressed for drill practice, and comments on Mrs. Rice's lack of Sunday piety before walking partway with Jimboy. ### [Carnival](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/ix-carnival) Attends the revival with Aunt Hager and is less affectionate with Jimboy since their return from the country. ### [X: Punishment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/x-punishment) Sandy's mother, who finds him sobbing in her bed after the day's punishment. ### [XII: Hard Winter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xii-hard-winter) Sick with grippe, bedridden, anxiously awaiting word from Jimboy. ### [XIII: Christmas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xiii-christmas) Annjee is recovering from illness and secretly gathers wood and arranges for Brother Logan to build a sled for Sandy. She sends money to Harriett instead of buying gifts. ### [Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xiv-return) Returns to work at Mrs. Rice's after illness; saves money to buy Sandy a new suit; expresses concern about Jimboy's lack of letters. ### [One by One](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xv-one-by-one) Receives a letter from Jimboy and announces her decision to move to Detroit, leaving Sandy with Hager. ### [Nothing but Love](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xvi-nothing-but-love) Mentioned as having gone off after Jimboy. ### [Children's Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xviii-children-s-day) Annjee writes a letter to Sandy from Detroit, describing her job, Jimboy's broken guitar, and her hope to send for Sandy. She sends kisses and asks about family. ### [Note to Harriett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxi-note-to-harriett) Takes charge of the household after Hager falls ill; sends Sandy to deliver a note to Harriett and to send a telegram to Annjee. ### [Note to Harriett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxi-note-to-harriett) Sandy sends a telegram to her in Detroit informing her that Aunt Hager is very sick. ### [Beyond the Jordan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxii-beyond-the-jordan) Organizes the funeral and takes charge of Sandy; writes to Annjee about Hager's death. ### [Beyond the Jordan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxii-beyond-the-jordan) Sends a belated letter to Hager from Toledo, unaware of her mother's death. ### [Tempy's House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxiii-tempy-s-house) Tempy is Sandy's aunt and new guardian. She is obsessed with respectability, social status, and distancing herself from her family's past. She admires white culture, rejects blues and spirituals, and insists on proper speech and behavior. She manages her own and her husband's rental properties and takes pride in being the only colored woman with a charge account at Wertheimer's. ### [Tempy's House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxiii-tempy-s-house) Annjee, Sandy's mother, writes a tearful letter from Toledo explaining she cannot afford to send for Sandy due to scarce work and a small apartment. Tempy replies, criticizing Annjee's choices and insisting Sandy stay in Stanton for a proper education. ### [A Shelf of Books](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxiv-a-shelf-of-books) Tempy provides Sandy with books, encourages his education, and buys him a long-trouser suit when he enters high school. She disapproves of Booker T. Washington and admires Du Bois. ### [Pool Hall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxv-pool-hall) Mentioned as being away at a convention of the Midwest Colored Women's Clubs, allowing Sandy freedom to visit the pool hall. ### [XXVI: The Doors of Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxvi-the-doors-of-life) Tempy is busy with Red Cross and Liberty Bond clubs, believing the war will bring democracy and better race relations. She scolds Sandy for his late hours and lack of reading, and gives him a book called 'The Doors of Life'. ### [XXVI: The Doors of Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxvi-the-doors-of-life) Annjee writes a letter from Chicago, worried and lonely after Jimboy was sent to France. She needs Sandy with her but cannot send for him yet. ### [XXVII: Beware of Women](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxvii-beware-of-women) Sandy's aunt who advises him to stop seeing Pansetta; Sandy later resents her interference. ### [Chicago](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxviii-chicago) Meets Sandy at the station, has aged and grown heavier; works in a hair dressing parlor and lives in a small room on Wabash Avenue. ### [Chicago](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxviii-chicago) Sandy's aunt who packed his lunch and expressed concern about Chicago's influence on him. ### [Elevator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxix-elevator) Worries constantly about Jimboy, reads war news, and discourages Sandy from returning to school, wanting him to work instead. ### [Elevator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxix-elevator) Referenced as having a house Sandy admires, but he rejects her husband's dullness and shame about being colored. ### [Princess of the Blues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxx-princess-of-the-blues) Attends the show with Sandy, cries during Harriett's blues song remembering Jimboy, and initially argues against Sandy continuing school due to financial strain. ### [Princess of the Blues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxx-princess-of-the-blues) Mentioned by Harriett as having behaved coldly after Aunt Hager's funeral. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters/annjee - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/not_without_laughter_se/characters